Page 13 of Spring Tide

“You must be exhausted.”

“I am.” He’s full-on standing now—in all his six-foot-something glory—gaze undeniably boring into mine. “I’m also very confused.”

“About ... ?”

“You know, Harper.” His voice is toneless. “Tell me why you lied.”

“Oh,that. Right.” I worry my teeth over my bottom lip. “Eden said you spoke with her and Fletcher. Listen, that, well ... it’s not so much a lie, just more of a misunderstanding.”

“Seems like a bald-faced lie to me.” His stare is open, blatant, unwavering as our eyes meet. “You’ve somehow convinced your friends that we’re dating, yet you barely know a thing about me.”

“I know you,” I argue, fighting a hopeless grin. “You’re Luca Reynolds: linebacker, defensive captain, Boyer Pier employee. We’ve worked at Amber Isle together for years now. We go way back, pal.”

“Pal,” he mirrors, unamused. “Is that what you’d call your boyfriend?”

“I, um—”

“See, I really can’t figure this all out.” He’s shaking his head, palm meeting knuckles as he cracks one fist against the other. “I’ve spent the last few days drawing up my own hypotheses, but none of them seem to ring true. Tell me, Harper—what makes you so desperate?”

Panic rises in my throat. My mind starts to spin with useless untruths and half-baked apologies. But I’m not a seasoned liar, and I’m not the greatest at avoiding confrontation. So, in the end, I settle on unfiltered honesty.

“Well, see, the thing is ... I have a crush.”

“You—I mean,fuck, I’m flattered.” His lips press together, eyes wide. “Really. I just—we aren’t—and I ... we hardly know each other, Harper.”

“Oh my God. No, I’m so sorry. Not onyou, Luca,” I hastily add. “I have a crush on this baseball player at our school. I just, I needed an excuse to swap teams, and it all spiraled out of control.”

For several long moments, he makes no sound at all. He’s silent, unmoving, astounded as his gaze drops. “So youareusing me?”

“I am,” I confirm, hoping he can sense my regret. “And I’m so, so sorry that I dragged you into this.”

He immediately waves off my concern, brows pressed into a hard line. “No, it’s fine.”

“It is?”

“Sure it is,” he repeats. “You use me, then it’s only fair that I use you.”

“What do you mean?”

Our eyes lock again, and I’m nearly squirming. His chest slowly rises and falls with two deep breaths.

“I need you, Harper.”

“You—”

“I have a secret, a lie of my own,” he clarifies. “If you want me to keep yours, then I’m gonna need your help.”

“Wait, I told you it’s not really a lie. It’s more of a big misunderstanding. And despite how it all may seem, I don’t really enjoy misunderstandings.” I’m frantically shaking my head, pleading with him now. “So, it’s probably better if you just keep your secret.”

His nostrils flare, a muscle in his jaw tightening as he registers my words.

“Well, the thing is, you’re engaging in academic dishonesty. Now that you’ve gone and told me about it, I should probably report this to your department. Or, at the very least, I should warn the baseball team.”

“I haven’t even met with them yet.” My posture tenses. “Warn them how?”

“I don’t know, tell them some groupie is masquerading herself as an intern.” He clears his throat, gaze drifting to an unknown spot above my head. “She’s not really there to do her job; she just wants to flirt with the players.”

“I ... you wouldn’t ...seriously, Luca?”

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